A special court hearing the 2002 Naroda-Patiya riot case has directed the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) to submit its final report on the application by an NGO seeking probe on the issue of larger conspiracy in the case.
Judge Jyotsna Yagnik, while issuing the directions to SIT on Saturday on the application of Jan Sangharsh Manch (JSM), has scheduled next hearing on October 19.
The directions came after DCP Himanshu Shukla, investigating officer of the Naroda-Patiya case, told the court that the SIT intended to file its final investigation report soon and may have to submit similar final reports in the Naroda Gam and Gulberg Society riot cases in the near future.
Ninety five people were killed at Naroda-Patiya on February 28, 2002, and 67 persons are facing trial for the offence in the special court for the last couple of years.
Former Minister in the Narendra Modi government Maya Kodnani is one of the accused in the case.
The Jan Sangharsh Manch had last month filed an application seeking directions to the SIT, investigating the Naroda-Patiya riot case, to submit its final report or the Action Take Report (ATR) on the further probe being conducted to look into the allegations of larger conspiracy.
The NGO had contended in its application that the SIT was directed by the court last year to file the progress report in the Naroda-Patiya case, which it had not done so far, despite submitting progress report in the Supreme Court.
The NGO had moved a similar application in 2009 seeking further investigations under the provisions of section 173(8) of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), JSM counsel Shamshad Pathan, who also represents some riot victims, said.
The court was then urged to direct the SIT to conduct detailed analysis of phone call records, and on the basis of various evidences, probe into the roles of senior police officers, including then city Police Commissioner P.C. Pande, then Joint Commissioners of Police M.K. Tandon and R.J. Savani, besides politicians, including the then State Home Minister Gordhan Zadaphia.
The JSM has been claiming that proper analysis of call details provided by IPS officer Rahul Sharma could expose the larger conspiracy behind the 2002 riots.
The court had, however, disposed of the application in December 2010 on the ground that the investigation was underway and the issue was pending before the Supreme Court.
